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CONTACTS:
Rachel Garst, Whiterock Outreach Coordinator, rgarst@netins.net,
h/o (712)
651-2015, Liz Garst, Whiterock Conservancy Executive Director,
lizgarst@gliddenwildblue.com,
h/o (712) 684-5240; Fred Kirschenmann,
Whiterock board chair, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture,
ISU,
leopold1@iastate.edu,
515-294-5588; Mark Ackelson, Iowa Natural Heritage
Foundation, www.inhf.org, (800) 475-1846
or (515) 288-1846; Travis Castle,
Coon Rapids Development Group, castle@longlines.com,
h/o (712) 999-4321,
cell (712) 210-3088; Jeff Morgan, Iowa Great Places Press Office, (515)
281-3858, www.iowagreatplaces.gov.
Follow this link to our
Great Places documents.
COON RAPIDS-WHITEROCK
NAMED AN IOWA "GREAT PLACE"
On October 11, 2005, Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa formally
named the City of
Coon Rapids, together with the adjoining Whiterock Conservancy, as one of
Iowa's first three officially-designated "Great Places."
The other two
winners of the title were Clinton and Sioux City, both many times larger
than tiny Coon Rapids with its population of just 1,300 people.
The Coon Rapids-Whiterock team, led by volunteer Whiterock Outreach
Coordinator Rachel Garst, presented an extensive document centered on the
following vision: "Within five years, the opening of Whiterock
Conservancy,
fabulous trail connections, and dozens of creative things to do has made
diverse, accessible Coon Rapids the ecotourism hub of Western Iowa."
"Start with a great little town," said Rachel Garst. "Add
to that a nature
preserve and research center extending eight miles down a beautiful wooded
river valley, plus dozens of creative local eco-businesses, and Coon
Rapids
is poised to become an authentic rural destination of statewide
importance."
She projects that, with state investment, visitors to the area will
rapidly
increase from 4,000 to 50,000 per year, giving a large boost to the local
and regional economy.
Projects for which the team is seeking support include the basic road,
trail, signage and parking infrastructure necessary to open the central
4,300-acre Whiterock land area to the public; a paved four-mile trail
looping between Whiterock and the town of Coon Rapids; watershed
protection;
environmental inventories; pasture reconfigurations; and protection of
rare
prairie remnants on the enormous Whiterock land base.
Another focus is protection of the area's unusually dark skies (and thus
bright stars) by promoting the wide-spread use of capped lighting
fixtures.
Whiterock currently believes itself to be the darkest spot in Iowa.
Community projects include a world-class corn museum, support for local
ecotourism businesses, park developments, connections to regional bike
trails, new emergency facilities, a bilingual school-community liaison,
more
elder-care options, roadwork and streetscaping, promotion of public art,
and
green planning.
Underpinning the Coon Rapids-Whiterock offer is the philosophy of
"eco-tourism," which holds that if people can find ways to make
a living off
of their natural resources and traditions, they will have the motivation
and
ability to protect and preserve their unique environmental and cultural
assets.
The Coon Rapids' vision includes dozens of local
"eco-entrepreneurs" in
rural tourism businesses such as a blacksmith tour, archery courts, and
field dog trials, as well as the sale of quality locally-produced items
including smoked chicken, honey and candles, organic strawberries, stained
glass, rag rugs, quilts, and hand-hewn log benches.
The aim is for the visitor to the area, no matter what their interests or
abilities, to always find something engaging to do. And the locals,
instead
of having to commute to Des Moines for jobs, will be able to make a living
right in the small town and farmsteads where they prefer to live.
Vilsack's Great Places initiative is designed as a creative challenge to
Iowa's communities. Indeed, so creative is the process that the 146
communities which originally signed up were instructed only to present an
undefined "offer" addressing the following Great Place
dimensions: "unique
sense of place, engaging experiences, rich social fabric, vital economy,
pleasing environment, strong foundation, and creative culture."
There was no standard format, but 73 communities did make it as far as
giving a one hour presentation to a team of Citizen Advisory Group judges.
The judges visiting Coon Rapids, among other activities, were driven
through
the woods on a dirt path and invited to hold and release a live hawk which
had been rehabilitated by a local nonprofit, Saving Our Avian Resources.
So
impressed were they that one of them chose to give all three of her votes
just to Coon Rapids-Whiterock.
The process will also require creativity from the 18 participating state
agencies, which are being challenged to work together to target resources
on
the three communities selected. The amount of money currently
available,
and that which might be appropriated through future legislative processes,
is still unclear.
The five-year Coon Rapids-Whiterock Great Places plan totals over $16
million. A big part of that is the cost of proposed regional bike trail
connections. Whiterock board member Mark Ackelson says "Bike trails
supported with amenities definitely contribute to economic development and
there is hard data to prove it. It will be good news when our elected
officials recognize their importance to communities and expand support for
these investments."
Travis Castle, president of the Coon Rapids Development Group, adds
"Whether
or not we get all the funding requested, the process was still more than
worthwhile. It allowed Coon Rapids to forge a new development vision built
around the huge new asset of Whiterock Conservancy. We are thrilled to be
selected, and we aim to make Iowa proud."
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